Looking for gongfu tea tray / table

As the subject suggests I am looking for bamboo or wooden tea table that can handle spilled water. Tables I found from US based stores were very expensive or too big and stores based outside the US had very high shipping fees ($40-50). I am looking for one around 13-14 inches x 12 inches though does not have to be exactly this size.

Can anyone recommend a few online stores that offer tea trays priced no more than $50 and shipping around $15 or less? If the table is of nice aesthetics and quality I would spend a little more.

While I have not seen other types of tea trays in person, the one that I ordered (and that I am very pleased with) can be found at: http://www.wanlingteahouse.com/section. ... ys_cha_pan. In particular, I got the Medium GongFu Tea Tray (with pipe). I have used my tray every day since I got it, and I would highly recommend it to anyone else! Plus, as it was my first order, they gave me 10% off as well!

I bought a tray like this one http://jingtea.com/teaware/tea-accessor ... water-tray (currently out of stock). I bought mine from Rishi, but that one's also out of stock. The point is, that on the site that Fletch points you to there are also trays with water compartments, and if they work like mine those are also very convenient. I also use mine to carry teaware from the cabinet to the table, which I think makes an early demise less likely.

tortoise wrote:I don't know what the deal is with tea trays. I find it very difficult to A) find one I like, and if I do B) find it IN STOCK.

I guess it's one of those things that just has to come to you randomly.

+1, got a bamboo one from Rishi during the sale around the end of the year, very cheap, free shipping! It took me 12 years to finally spring for one. I am pleased with it, especially the part of paying like 38 USD shipped.

If any one knows of nice stone ones, I'd like to know ... Alibaba has them, but not really sure about dealing with manufacturers. If there are some brave folks, we might band togehter to buy some wholesale from china.

I got my small bamboo tray during a Rishi sale, but since it didn't qualify for free shipping on its own I HAD to buy some tea. Two fair trade puerhs that were well reviewed here on Teachat - including my first, albeit small, bing.

I think the ones with an internal plastic tray are more likely to survive in the long term. I've seen some from eBay sellers that seem to be lacquered inside to be waterproof. Any experience with these?

Bob_McBob wrote:I think the ones with an internal plastic tray are more likely to survive in the long term. I've seen some from eBay sellers that seem to be lacquered inside to be waterproof. Any experience with these?

The few bamboo trays that I have degrade after about a year or two of daily use to where they leak and look terrible with tea stains where the coating did not last and tea stained the grains. I am now attempting to use marine epoxy to seal the newest tray I got and soon an older one. After a few weeks using the marine epoxied one it seems to be holding out better than the thin mediocre sealant/finishing that comes on it, but time will tell. I haven't really seen any that have a nice finish that would last so I am trying this out.

MarshalN wrote:I'd strongly advise against buying a bamboo only tray -- they tend to crack after a year (or even less) of use, and are sooner or later irredeemable and need a replacement.

Though some are much better than others. I used to wonder why some stores sold $50 or even $200 bamboo tea trays that didn't look much different from the $20 ones. But some (though not all) of the really expensive ones really are better made. I have one of the Lin's ones (from when Hou De was still selling them) at work, and it's a champ. Almost daily use for several years now. (knock on wood).

Also, if you don't use the bamboo trays for more than a few days, you should put in some cold water first when you start using it again, so the hot water doesn't shock it too much.

At home, I don't use a tray at all - just a cloth mat and a collection of dishes / bowls / trays for waste water, holding the teapot, etc.